How to get on the first page of Google
After reading my guide on how to make money with a website, you have decided to pursue a career as a blogger and create your own website. Going deeper into the topic, you have discovered that in order to be able to obtain good results in terms of income, it is essential that the content you publish on your website is positioned at least on the first page of Google. So, in order not to waste your time unnecessarily and risk not getting any results, you would like to know how to manage to position your site in the first results of the famous search engine.
If that’s the case, let me tell you that today is your lucky day. With this guide, in fact, I will explain how to get on the first page of Google by indicating the solutions available to you and their main differences. In addition to giving you some tips to keep in mind both to write quality content and to better optimize your website for search engines, I will also tell you how to create paid advertising campaigns to position yourself on the first pages on Google.
How do you say? Is that exactly what you wanted to know? So, let’s not waste any more time chatting, and let’s get to the heart of the matter immediately.
Courage: make yourself comfortable, take all the time you see fit, and dedicate yourself to reading the next paragraphs. Identify the solution that you think best suits your needs, try to put into practice the indications I am about to give you, and I’m sure you will be able to understand how to get a good ranking on Google. Happy reading and, above all, good work!
Differences Between SEO And SEA
Before going into the details of this guide and explaining how to get on the first page on Google, it might be useful to know what solutions are available to you and their main differences.
A valid method to try to rank your website on the first page of Google results is to rely on SEO. If you have never heard of it, SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization and is the set of all the optimization activities of a website aimed at improving its position on search engines and, consequently, increasing its visibility.
Alternatively, it is possible to get to the top positions of the first page of Google by doing SEA (an acronym for Search Engine Advertising), the activity of managing paid results advertising campaigns (known as ads or sponsored results) on search engines. In a nutshell, doing SEA on Google means creating paid advertising campaigns with Google ADS (the old Google AdWords).
If you are wondering what are the main differences between the two activities just mentioned, you must know that an SEO activity takes a long time to get the first results (some months, sometimes even years, if you have authoritative competitors), but it is long-lasting and stable in time. On the contrary, the SEA activity allows you to immediately obtain visibility which, however, ends with the termination of the paid campaign.
Get On The First Page Of Google With SEO Activities
As mentioned above, if you want to optimize your website in order to improve its visibility on Google in the long term, starting an SEO activity is the best solution for your needs. The latter can be implemented both on a project that has just started and on a website that has already existed for some time.
Index the Website
The first step gets your website on the first page of Google is to index it. Usually, this is an automatic operation: in fact, the Google robot (called Googlebot) constantly scans the Internet in search of new websites and new content to be indexed.
To facilitate the crawling of your site by the robot and, consequently, the indexing of the contents, it is useful to create an XML Sitemap, a file that collects all the URLs of the Internet site to be sent, subsequently, to Google via the Search Console. In this regard, my guide on how to create a sitemap may be useful.
If, by doing so, your content should not be indexed (you can check this writing “site:example.com” on Google), you can decide to “force” the indexing request. To do this, go to this page, enter the URL and a brief description of your website in the URL and Comments fields, click on the Add URL button, and you’re done.
You should know that reporting your website is not synonymous with indexing. As indicated in the “Add / Remove a URL” page that I indicated above, Google does not guarantee the inclusion of the URL reported in the index, nor is it able to provide information on the time required for indexing of the website indicated.
Search engines prioritize websites with high-quality, original, and relevant content. Ensure your website has a clear structure and that your pages are easy to navigate. Also, obtaining links from reputable and high-authority websites in your industry can help improve your website’s visibility and increase the chances of it being indexed.
Optimize Content
Optimizing content is a fundamental activity for groped to occupy the top ten positions of Google (those on the first page). Many insiders argue that “content is the king” (a phrase attributed to Bill Gates); that is, it is the quality of the content that commands.
Having a performing website, super fast, with an excellent structure, and easily navigable is useless if the site in question offers content of little value. However, the reverse is also true, and that’s why good SEO requires you to work on multiple fronts.
But how to optimize the content? The golden rule that you must always keep in mind is: to write for users and not for search engines. Put the reader first, trying to offer valid content that gives the best possible response, avoiding grammatical and syntax errors.
Forget obsolete practices, such as keyword stuffing which consists of repeating the exact keyword over and over again in every part of the content. Enter the keywords of your articles in the title, in the first paragraph of the content, and, if possible, in the header tags, remembering to do it naturally, without forcing.
For ease of reading, divide the content into paragraphs consisting of short and clear sentences (use simple and easy to understand words), use so-called header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.), and, when necessary, create bulleted lists or numbered lists. Do not create content of little value, and do not write forcibly just to lengthen the content: try to get into the detail of the topic, taking advantage of related searches and the Google autocomplete (it is the function that is activated the moment you write the keyword on Google).
Include relevant keywords in your content, meta tags, and page titles to help search engines understand what your content is about. Make sure to use keywords in a natural and non-spammy way. Lastly, many people access the internet using their mobile devices, so make sure your website is optimized for mobile viewing.
By following all these tips, you will be able to offer your readers valuable content, and, as a result, you will increase your chances of ranking on the first page of Google. Keep in mind, however, that before starting any SEO activity, it is necessary to do a careful analysis of the sector of interest to find out which keywords have the highest search volume and to check your competitors.
To do this, you can rely on free tools such as Ubersuggest or Google Trends (in this case, my guide on how to use Google Trends might be useful) or choose to use paid tools such as Semrush, a website that allows not only to analyze your website but also to keep track of your competitors.
Other Useful Tips
In addition to the indications I have given you in the previous paragraphs, you must know that there are many other activities to optimize your website in order to get on the first page of google.
In fact, Google takes into account over 200 factors to determine which web pages deserve to be in the top results of the SERP (the search results page).
- Site Speed: The speed at which your website pages load is an important factor. To check the speed of your pages, you can use Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool, which, in addition to indicating the loading times of the analyzed website, lists the critical issues and possible improvements. Also, keep in mind that the server hosting your website can also be the cause of any long loading times. A slow-loading website can lead to a poor user experience and cause users to leave your site.
- User Experience: tries to offer the best browsing experience possible for the user. To do this, give your website a hierarchical structure (by creating categories and subcategories of content), use the breadcrumbs list to facilitate navigation, and make sure that every single page of your website is reachable and with a maximum of 3 clicks from the homepage.
- Insert Links: inserting links to in-depth articles or external resources gives value to your pages. Don’t be afraid to insert links, both internal and external (making sure you link to resources that are actually useful and give added value).
- Use Reliable Tools: the optimization of your site is of fundamental importance. For this reason, make sure that the programming code that shapes your website is clean and free of errors. For example, if you use WordPress and choose to use themes and plugins, make sure they are made by experienced developers and offer long-term support. If you have the opportunity, avoid relying on free themes and paid themes with too heavy code, which, inevitably, also affects the loading time of your pages.
If you are still new to the optimization business, I recommend that you read Google’s SEO starter guide and Google Webmaster Instructions, after which you can consider taking an SEO course online.
Get The First Page On Google With Google ADS
If you are willing to put your wallet to work to be in the first Google first page results, then Google ADS is the solution for you. The famous online service allows you to create advertising campaigns by establishing your own budget and paying only for actual clicks on your ad.
Google Ads has a built-in reporting system that allows you to monitor the performance of your advertising campaigns. You can see key metrics such as clicks, impressions, cost, and conversion rate with it. You can filter and segment data to understand which ad groups, keywords, and campaigns drive the most results.
Google Ads reporting provides detailed, real-time data to help you make informed decisions about your advertising campaigns. But for more comprehensive and fully customizable reporting, you may use Google Ads Reporting Software.
To start a campaign with Google ADS, connected to the main page of the service, click on the Start now button at the top right, select your Google account, and, on the new open page, indicate the goal of your campaign by choosing one of the available options between Receiving more calls, Receiving more visits to your physical location and Increasing sales or website registrations.
Once you have made your choice, indicate the required data in the Business Name and Business Website fields and click the Next button, then specify the geographical area in which your business and your customers are located and specify the category.
In the Your ad section, enter the title and description of your ad in the Ad n.1 box, make sure that the URL visible in the field Clicks on your ad leads to is correct, and click the Next button. Now, if you wish, press the + button in the Images and Logos sections to add an image or logo of your business to the ad you are creating and, in the Set your budget screen, indicate how much you are willing to spend on average per day for your campaign.
It will be useful to know that you will only pay if users click on your ad and that a single click has a variable cost. However, the daily expenditure will not exceed the set budget, and, in case of second thoughts, you can cancel the ad at any time. Now, check that all the data previously entered are correct and click on the Next button. Finally, in the Configure billing section, enter your billing information, choose the payment method you prefer between Credit or debit card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express) or Bank account, specify the data in the appropriate fields, enter the checkmark next to I accept the terms and conditions and click on the Submit button to start your first advertising campaign. To learn more, I leave you to my guide on how does Google Ads works.
